ID 751 the Influence of Tourism Imagery on Tourist Visits in Lake

Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Detroit, Michigan, USA, August 10 - 14, 2020 The Influence of Tourism Imagery on Tourist Visits in Lake Toba Tourism Object North Sumatera

Hengki Mangiring Parulian Simarmata, Roy Sahputra Saragih Department of Business Administration Politeknik Bisnis Indonesia Pematangsiantar, Indonesia [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Lake Toba's brand image as one of the strategies to increase the number of tourism in Samosir Regency. This study will provide a measure of how much influence the Image of tourists to the Lake Toba attraction to the decision of tourists visiting Samosir district. So that the expectations of local and international tourists visiting Samosir Regency are increasing. Considering Lake Toba has been prioritized as one of the priority tourist attraction developments outside of Bali. The research method used is descriptive and qualitative, where data collection is done by distributing questionnaires to tourists, conducting observations in Toba Samosir District, interviews with villagers, local communities, and data from the Samosir district tourism department. The sample used was domestic and foreign tourists visiting tourist sites in Samosir Regency. Data analysis techniques using simple linear regression analysis. From the results of this study, there is a positive and significant effect between the image of tourism destinations on tourist visit decisions. The magnitude of the influence of the tourist image on the decision of tourist visits by 62,8% and the rest 37,2% is influenced by other factors.

Keywords Brand Image, Tourism, Lake Toba, Samosir.

1. Introduction Tourism is one of the biggest contributors to Indonesia's foreign exchange after oil, coal, natural gas, and palm oil. This potential is one of the priorities being addressed by the government of Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia. The development of tourism potential can increase the income of local people and make a major contribution to regional development.

Geographically Samosir Regency is located in Samosir Regency, located between 20 21'38 '' - 2049'48 '' North Latitude and 98024'00 '' - 99001'48 '' East Longitude with an altitude between 904 - 2,157 meters above sea level . Samosir Regency is flanked by seven districts. Samosir district consists of nine sub-districts, namely Sianjur mula- mula sub-district, harian sub-district, sitio-tio sub-district, onan runggu sub-district, nainggolan sub-district, palipi sub-district, ronggur nihuta sub-district, pangururan sub-district, and simanindo district (BPS, 2020). Samosir Regency has an outside area of 206,905 hectares. Where the area consists of 144,424 ha of land (69,280 ha of Samosir Island and 75,145 ha of Sumatra Island) then the waters of Lake Toba amounting to 62,480 ha. Samosir Regency is one of the districts that has a tourism-based vision. Where the vision of Samosir Regency is the realization of a prosperous, independent, and competitive Samosir community based on tourism and agriculture. In addition to the charm of its very beautiful natural scenery, in Samosir Regency there are several other tourism potentials that are attractive to tourists, including places and cultural art objects of the ancestral heritage of the Batak tribe.

In 2018, the population of Samosir Regency was 125,816, spread over 30,326 households, or an average of 4 people per household. The number of male and female populations is almost equal, this is known from the sex ratio of the population, which is 98.69 percent, meaning that for every 100 female residents there are 99 male residents (BPS, 2019). Based on the 2016 Economic Census listing results, the economic activity in Samosir Regency outside the agricultural sector that is mostly carried out is the wholesale and retail trade, repair, and maintenance of cars and motorbikes. The labor absorption in this category of business field was the highest, amounting to 28.14 percent or as

© IEOM Society International 3848 Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Detroit, Michigan, USA, August 10 - 14, 2020 much as 7,608 workers compared to other categories of business fields. Samosir Regency which has an area of 206,905 ha has diverse attractions ranging from nature tourism, cultural tourism, and spiritual tourism. Where according to data from the Toba Samosir tourism office in 2019 there are 10 leading tourist attractions in Toba Samosir Regency that we can see from table 1 show, namely :

Table 1. Leading Tourism Objects of Samosir Regency No Tourism Object 1 The tomb of Raja Sidabutar 2 Tuktuk Siadong area 3 Stone of the Siallagan Parsidangan Chair 4 Hutabolon Museum 5 Parbaba White Sand Beach 6 Aek Rangat Pangururan 7 Tele View Tower 8 Dolok Holbung Sipege 9 Aek Sipitu Dai 10 Batu Sawan 11 Effrata Waterfall 12 Naisogop Waterfall 13 The tomb of Raja Sidabutar

If Tourism Objects in Samosir Regency are managed well, it will increase people's income. The development of community tourism is not only from the central and regional governments but there needs to be active participation from the surrounding community. From the data of the Samosir Regency tourism office, it can be seen that there have been additional visits by domestic and foreign tourists. Wherefrom the data obtained can be seen that every year there is an increase in tourist visits.

Table 2. Tourist Visits in Samosir Regency Local Foreign No Year Tourists Tourists 1 2015 141,215 34,248 2 2016 154,905 35,823 3 2017 222,288 55,771 4 2018 312,925 65,724

From the table 2 show, we can see the increasing number of tourists is due to the massive media coverage of Lake Toba tourism development and the President's visit to North Sumatera, especially in the Lake Toba region. But from the results of initial observations made on tourists, there are some tourist complaints such as public response to the importance of tourism awareness is still lacking. The mindset of the community is still difficult to change such as awareness of environmental cleanliness, friendliness of the community in serving tourists is considered still lacking and often get prices that are not by the standards of the products or services are offered. As a result, tourists often feel disappointed and do not make a tour for the next tour. So that the image that has been portrayed in the media and the news does not match what is obtained by tourists. This resulted in a decrease in tourist visits for the second time. A good image becomes very important in the selection of attractions. The image of a tourist attraction will affect tourists in the search for information about what products and services offered by attractions to tourists.

Based on the background of the research above, the formulation of the problem in this study is how much influence the Brand Image as a Strategy to Increase the Number of Lake Toba Tourism in the Samorsir Regency. Understanding Tourism explained in Law Number 10 of 2009 (Undang-Undang No.10, 2009) is a variety of tourism activities that are supported by the availability of facilities and infrastructure by the community, business people, and the Regional and Central Government. Where tourism activities can be interpreted as a trip made to visit a place to relax and get entertainment (Undang-Undang No.10, 2009). "Tourism aims to : • Increase economic growth • Improve people's welfare • Eradicate poverty • Overcome unemployment • Conserve nature, the environment, and natural resources • Promote culture • Raise the nation's image • Foster a sense of love for the motherland • Strengthen national identity and unity • Streng then friendship between nations "(Undang-Undang No.10, 2009).

Considering that the development of tourism promoted by the Government of Indonesia is currently very massive to increase foreign exchange earnings, tourism is receiving very serious attention. Lake Toba has beautiful natural tourism potential and cultural potential is an attraction for tourists. Because there is a tourist attraction is the motivation of tourists (Rakib, 2017) and tourist destinations become tourist destinations (Nurchayati and Ratnawati, 2016). One strategy that needs to be improved by forming a good image so that tourists increasingly visit Lake Toba. Tourism where it is explained that "The tourism business includes : • Tourist attraction • Tourism area • Tourist transportation services • Tourist travel services • Food and beverage services • Accommodation provision services • Organizing entertainment and recreational activities • Organizing meetings, incentive trips, conferences, and exhibitions • Tourism information services • Tourism consulting services • Tour guide services • Water tourism • Spa (Undang-Undang No.10, 2009).

The image of Lake Toba as a beautiful and largest lake becomes an important thing in tourists' decision to visit. With a good image, it will be easier for tourists to decide on their choice of the visit while on vacation. Feelings and trust in the offer of services provided will make it easier for prospective tourists to have tourist attractions. Brand Image is one of the important things in an organization's promotion strategy to increase purchases or visits (Amini et al, 2012). Brand Image is considered in choosing a tour package. According to Kotler and Keller (Kotler and Keller, 2012), Tourists will visit tourist objects by going through the stages of searching for information, then the information is evaluated to obtain alternative decisions and followed by the purchase of services and the act of repurchasing services. One of the strategies in shaping Lake Toba's image as the largest lake in Asia and as the Monaco of Asia continues to be booming so tourists are interested in finding information about Lake Toba attractions and what services are offered. With the increasing image will improve the position of products and services offered compared to competitors (Coker et al, 2013).

Image (Brand Image) is defined as ideas, beliefs (Kotler and Keller, 2012), impressions, feelings (Vegholm, 2011), and feelings of previous experiences (Lin and Lu, 2010). The same thing is explained by Chattananon et al, where Citra is explained as the identity or the way the organization presents itself (Chattananon et al, 2008). Unlike the case with Blomback and Rami’rez which explained that the image as a vision, culture, position, strategy of an organization that makes it unique (Blomback and Rami’rez, 2012). A good image is very useful for a tourist

© IEOM Society International 3850 Proceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Detroit, Michigan, USA, August 10 - 14, 2020 attraction where a good image can cause an emotional relationship between visitors with the object visited, a good image can increase repeat visits and satisfaction and loyalty. A good image that is felt by tourists is also a strategy in dealing with tourism competition between regions and countries (Lin and Lu, 2010).

The image is measured and evaluated on the reputation, performance, and identity of the products or services offered (Chattananon et al, 2008). According to Coker et al, the dimensions used to measure imagery are names, symbols, logos, colors, and slogans (Coker et al, 2013). While Blomback and Rami’rez for dimensions used to measure Brand Image name, offers, types, logos, slogans, forms of communication (Blomback and Rami’rez, 2012). While demanding Lin and Lu (2010) to measure the image seen from aspects of (a) Institutional Image such as consumer opinion of the organization, high popularity, good word of mouth, value offered, and relevance while for (b) Functional image offered is the attitude of consumers towards the activities offered and (c) the commodities offered.

According to Chattananon et al, where the image is measured by components (a) Trust in organizations such as the company's long-standing, the types of products and services, the quality of products and services, advertising, management, sponsorship activities. (b) Feelings of the company such as satisfaction with the products and services, company health, familiar products, recommendations, good relations with the company, like the product, quality products, and positive feelings towards the company. Whereas Oktarina (2011) to measure imagery are visual identity, communication, behavior, culture, and organizational structure.

In this study using the definitions of the theories of Coker et al, Chattananon et al and Lin and Lu where Brand Image will be measured by tourists 'beliefs and tourists' feelings. The concept of using products or services by tourists is very important to be understood by businesses and governments. With so many products and services available in several places both nationally and internationally resulting in different total visits from each region and country. According to Lovelock et al, it is explained that in the process of selecting products and services there is a process namely the selection, consumption, and evaluation of products and services (Lovelock et al, 2011). According to Rattanaphan, product selection is based on culture and perception such as price, quality, value, and behavior (Rattanaphan, 2012). While Kotler and Keller (2012) that consumer behavior in having services is influenced by (a) culture; (b) social, (c) personal.

According to Kotler and Keller (2012) the dimension used to make purchasing decisions is the introduction of needs, then looking for information by needs, after that evaluating various alternatives than the decision to use services and followed by actions after using what services will use again or not. Lin and Lu in measuring consumer decisions by using 3 parameters, namely awareness to buy, the desire to buy in the future, and the willingness to buy again (Lin and Lu, 2010). The same thing was done by Oktarina (2011) to measure the decision to use services by measuring 4 dimensions, namely, (1) introduction of needs; (2) Searching for various relevant information; (3) Evaluate to obtain several alternatives, and then make a purchase (Oktarina, 2011). In this study using the definition of Kotler and Keller, Lin and Lu and Oktarina where the dimensions used are recognition of needs, information seeking, evaluating to find alternatives, making purchases, and repurchases. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of tourism imagery on tourist visits in Lake Toba tourism object North Sumatera.

2. Methodology This research is descriptive and quantitative in which the purpose of this study is to answer the research problem formulation. Descriptive research is research that aims to describe the characteristics which are explained about who, what, when, where, why, and how (Malhotra, 2010). A quantitative approach by obtaining data from questionnaires distributed to local and foreign tourists. Malhotra explained that research using surveys is a questionnaire that has been designed to obtain clear and specific information (Malhotra, 2010). So the purpose of this research is to get information from tourists about behavior, motivation, intentions, knowledge, and lifestyle. Data collection technique Operationalization Variables used in the study are Brand Image which consists of towards the Tourism Visit Decision. Data and Information Sources The type of data used in this study are primary data and secondary data • Primary Data is data obtained from the data collection of questionnaire results to local and international tourists, the results of interviews with related parties such as the Samosir Regency tourism office, local government, local communities, and direct observation of tourist objects in Samosir Regency.

• Secondary data were obtained from International Journals on the topics of management, brand, image, and tourism. Data was also obtained from the tourism agency and the Central Statistics Agency of Samosir Regency. Population and Sample The population used from the tourist arrivals at the end of 2018 was 378,649 where the sample used using the Taro Yamane formula was 100 people (Riduan and Kuncoro, 2011). Analysis Techniques • Normality test. Testing for normality can be seen from the results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. If the test results are> 0.05, it can be said that the residual data has been normally distributed. • Validity Test The validity test is used to test the level of bankruptcy or error of an instrument. Validity test in this study using SPSS software and using the corrected item-total correlation method with a significance level of 5%. If r count> r table, then the item can be declared valid, if r count 0.6. • T-test. This test was carried out using a significant level of 0.05 (a = 5%). There are 2 hypotheses, namely Ha and Ho. • Coefficient of Determination (R2). The coefficient of determination has a zero to one interval (0

3. Results And Discussion This research was conducted on 100 tourist visitors on Samosir Island, from the figure 1 show the respondents consisted of 60 men and 40 women both local and international tourists.

Gender

40, 40.0% Man Woman

60, 60.0%

Figure 1. Respondent by gender

From the figure 2 show respondents by Age 17-25 years are 30%, Age 26-34 years are 20%, Age 35-44 years are 27%, Age over 45 years are 23%. Respondent age 23, 23.0%

27, 27.0% 30, 30.0%

17-25 years

26 - 34 years

35 - 44 years

20, 20.0% Over 45 years

Figure 2. Respondent by age

Characteristics of respondents based on the latest education as presented in figure 3 show, it can be seen that the respondent is educated at primary school is 8%, junior high school is 18%, senior high school is 42%, diploma is 17%, bachelor education is 14% and post graduate is 1%. This means that in terms of education, in general, tourists who are visiting when the research is conducted are people with high school

Education Primary School 14, 14.0% 1, 1.0% 17, 17.0% 8, 8.0% Junior High School

Senior High School

Diploma

Bachelor 18, 18.0% Post Graduate 42, 42.0%

Figure 3. Respondent by latest education

The analysis is used by using a simple linear regression analysis where to find the magnitude of the influence of tourism images on tourist visits. Calculations using SPSS Hypothesis testing. Hypothesis testing is used to determine the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable, the conditions for this test where 1. Ho is accepted if F arithmetic< F table with α = 5 % 2. H1 is accepted if F arithmetic< F table with α = 5 %

Table 3. F-Test Sum of Mean Model Squares df Square F Sig. 1 Regression 239.322 1 239.322 165.494 .000b Residual 141.718 98 1.446 Total 381.040 99 a. Dependent Variable: VARY b. Predictors: (Constant), VARX Source: Processed primary data, SPSS 2020

From table 3 show that there are statistical calculation results where the value of F arithmetic = 165.494 > F table = 1.658, with a significance level of 0.000. Based on the acquisition. F arithmetic> F table and Value Sig arithmetic 0.000 < Sig table 0.05 it can be concluded that the independent variable of tourism image has a positive and significant influence on tourist visits to Lake Toba.

Table 4. Determinant Coefficients Model Summary Std. Error of Adjusted the Model R R Square R Square Estimate 1 .793a .628 .624 1.20254 a. Predictors: (Constant), VARX Source: Processed primary data, SPSS 2020 From the table 4 show, the coefficient of determination (R Square) can be used to predict how much the contribution of the influence of the independent variable (X) to the related variable (Y). As for the Determinant coefficient (R Square) of statistical data processing where the magnitude of the contribution of the influence of the variable

Tourism Image (X) to Tourist Visits (Y). The determinant coefficient is obtained which means that The magnitude of the influence of the tourist image on the decision of tourist visits by 62,8% and the rest 37,2% is influenced by other factors.

4. Conclusion The image of Lake Toba Tourism has a positive and significant influence on the decision of tourist visits to vacation in Lake Toba, Samosir district. Therefore activities such as the organization of tours, hospitality of the surrounding community, rapid response from travel agents, responsive tour operators, products and services offered during the trip, Facilities and infrastructure in the tourist environment, advertisements, reputation of business operators, and travel agents and the presence of the credibility of the tourist is very important in improving the image of tourism so that it can increase tourist visits both local and foreign. The determinant coefficient is obtained which means that The magnitude of the influence of the tourist image on the decision of tourist visits by 62,8% and the rest 37,2% is influenced by other factors. Therefore the need for the Samosir Regency Tourism Office and Business Actors to pay attention to the image of Lake Toba as an International Tourism Object to increase tourist visits by providing training to the community to have tourism awareness, pay attention to facilities, infrastructure and quality service.

Acknowledgement Author are grateful to Polytechnic Business Indonesia and Indonesian College of Accounting and Management who had support and facilitated the process of making this article. An Appreciation to Ministry of research and Technology for funds program. Also thank to Dr. M Ikhsan Setiawan, who have support the publication of this research.

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Biographies

Hengki Mangiring Parulian Simarmata is an Assistant Professor, and Head of Business Administration diploma in Polytechnic Business Indonesia, Pematangsiantar since 2015, lecturer in Indonesian College of Accounting and Management, and Prima University, Medan Indonesia. He earn B.S Mathematic from North Sumatera University, Medan Indonesia and Master Management from Padjadjaran University Bandung Indonesia. He has published journal and conference papers. His research interest in marketing, tourism, and services quality. He has working as lecturer since 2015 and has taught courses in financial banking, business introduction, business administration, management, mathematics, entrepreneurship. he has written some book Work from Home, New Normal life after covid-19, Tourism Marketing, Human Resources Management, Introduction to tourism. He is member of Republic of Indonesia Lecturer Association and Indonesian Management Lecturer Association.

Roy Sahputra Saragih is an Assistant Professor in Polytechnic Indonesia and Indonesian College of Accounting and Management, Indonesia. He earn Bachelor of Education from HKBP Nommensen University Pematangsiantar, Indonesia and Master of Management from HKBP Nommensen University, Medan Indonesia. He has taught courses in management, financial banking, entrepreneurship. He is member of Republic of Indonesia Lecturer Association and Indonesian Management Lecturer Association.